Valentines
by DreamerInHerOwnWorld
Summary: Series of 3 stories involving Arthur and Morgana on Valentines' Day
1. Cookies

The first February she had been in Camelot was a week after her arrival when she was 10 and Arthur was 9. Morgana had spent the 14th curled up in a chair with her doll, refusing to talk to anyone, except in monosyllabic answers.

Uther took pity on his ward and she was allowed to stay in her chambers instead of go to the Valentines Ball, where she'd doubtless be reminded of her father by some thoughtless guests, talking of the battle in which Gorlois had been killed.

Morgana had barely eaten for the whole week since her father's death and although she didn't feel like eating, she had to admit she was a little hungry. When her maid left the room, she took her chance and crept down the stairs outside her chambers to sneak off to the kitchens.

She was almost at the kitchen door when she rounded a corner and let out a startled gasp as she almost collided with Arthur. She'd only seen him three times since her arrival, as she'd spent all of her time alone in her chambers or the library, but they had been good friends since they were young due to her father's frequent visits to Camelot. Uther and Gorlois had been good friends and Morgana had spent many holidays at the huge, white castle of Camelot.

Arthur began to speak to her:

"What are you doing Morgana?" he sounded curious, not accusatory, but for some reason this annoyed her.

"Nothing."

"You are doing something, I know you are," The superiority he put on made her even more annoyed.

"You can't know what I'm doing, Arthur, because you're not me," she countered.

"So you _are _doing something."

"No I'm not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

Morgana had almost forgotten what it was like to have a conversation with anyone that was more than about 3 words long. She'd forgotten how much fun it could be to have an argument and wind Arthur up. And she had definitely forgotten what an annoying prat Arthur could be.

"You're sneaking down to the kitchens aren't you?" he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

She wasn't going to let him know he'd guessed it that easily.

"No, I'm going to my chambers and you'd better go away Arthur Pendragon or I will kill you with my bare hands."

"But I want to be your friend; I don't want you to kill me. And - and anyway, you couldn't because you're such a sissy girl and I'm strong and a great fighter. Father says I'm the best."

She ignored the part about friendship completely, giving him the iciest glare she could manage. Turning on her heel she stormed off back to her chambers, ignoring her stomach's protests.

Curse Arthur and his father, she thought miserably. Morgana knew he was just showing off but she didn't care. She hated him and his swords and his horses and his stupid father. She didn't want to be his friend anymore let alone his half sister. She didn't want his father. She wanted her daddy.

Morgana squeezed her eyes closed as she thought of her poor daddy and tears poured out of them. She crawled into bed and lay there sobbing. It wasn't fair.

The door creaked open a few minutes later and Morgana ducked her head under the covers, feigning sleep. She heard tiptoes and then the door closing again. Cautiously she peeped out.

Something on her dressing table caught her eye and she went over to investigate. A small, heart-shaped cookie was lying there, obviously taken from the food at the Valentines Ball. Morgana picked it up and took a tentative nibble. It tasted sweet and cinnamon. She took another bite and another and several more until she'd finished it all. In spite of herself Morgana smiled. She had a good idea who that cookie had come from.

Looking at the crumbs on the dressing table, Morgana decided that maybe being Arthur's friend wasn't such a bad idea after all.


	2. Water Fights

**Thankyou so much for the lovely revies I got for this fic! I'm sorry it's taken me forever to upload but I have been busy moving house which meant I didn't have much time. I really hope you guys like this. :)**

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One particularly sunny afternoon, Morgana was sitting in her chambers, looking wistfully at Arthur from the window as he practised with his brand new sword in the courtyard below. Unable to resist the temptation, she went to join him. He looked up as she approached

"Morgana? What are you here for?"

"I want to play,"

Arthur laughed. "I'm not _playing_ Morgana, I'm training."

"And I'm bored."

Arthur paused, rolled his eyes and then placed his sword carefully back in its scabbard.

"Okay, what do you want to play?"

"Let's play outlaws!" Her face lit up as she thought of the idea. Arthur grinned back at her and together they raced off into the forest.

"Bet you can't catch me!" Morgana shouted, racing ahead.

"Hey! It's my turn to be the outlaw!" Arthur yelled.

"No it's not!"

"Yes it is!"

"Fine – I'll race you to the pond. Whoever gets there first is the outlaw," Morgana decided generously.

"That's not fair, you're already ahead of me!" Arthur argued.

"Scared I'll beat you?" she challenged, her eyes glinting.

Arthur didn't bother replying, just began to run as fast as he could. Morgana turned and sprinted off into the woods as he chased after her.

Panting and scrambling, they continued to race until Morgana eventually arrived at the pool, Arthur no more than a metre behind her.

"I win!" she crowed in delight.

"No you don't – you cheated – you shoved me over!"

"Can't you just accept that I'm faster than you, Arthur?" Morgana asked, smirking.

He leapt towards her and she tripped, caught off guard by is shove, landing in the muddy pond behind her. Morgana shrieked and grabbed Arthur's foot, dragging him in, too.

"You idiot!" he yelped, splashing her. She giggled and he couldn't help laughing too as he looked at her sitting in the mud with weed snaking around her arms and in her hair. Before long, the two of them had begun to roll around laughing and splashing each other in the shallow mud. Arthur had to admit, it was fun to play with Morgana most of the time when she wasn't being a bossy know-it-all.

He was distracted from his thoughts as Morgana doused him in another almighty splash of water. Seeking revenge, he scooped up a handful of mud and leaves from the edge of the pool and dumped it unceremoniously on her head.

"Arthur!" she scolded angrily. "You've just covered my hair in mud! I'm supposed to look pretty for the Valentines' Ball tonight!"

She didn't manage to look angry for long before he hit her with another load of water, getting rid of most of the leaves and twigs, but also soaking her even more.

"What?" he asked innocently, "It's only a bit of water!"

Giggling and teasing, the two youngsters ran across the fresh grass back to the castle and stopped short as they were confronted by a fuming Uther.

"What _have _you been doing?" he raged, "You've been out for hours with no word left behind, have disrupted the preparations for the feast and return in a filthy state. Who's going to explain this?"

Morgana opened her mouth, but Arthur stepped forward.

"I'm sorry, we were just playing father."

"Ridiculous. This behaviour is entirely inappropriate and not at all what I would expect from my son." Uther turned on Arthur but Morgana jumped in:

"It was my fault. I persuaded Arthur to play me because I was bored." Her small voice rang out in the empty hall, loud and unafraid. Morgana had never been afraid of confronting people, even Uther.

He narrowed his eyes.

"I would have expected you to have more sense. Disgracing yourself like this is low behaviour indeed. You will be punished severely." Uther ranted for another ten minutes before dismissing them angrily.

As soon as they were out of the hall Arthur turned to Morgana.

"Thanks for sticking up for me," he said, sticking out his hand.

"It's okay," she replied, taking it, "That's what friends do."

Later that evening, having been kept in her room for several hours and missing yet another Valentines' Ball, Morgana knocked on Arthur's door. He opened it and, seeing her, smiled and let her in.

"You're cleaned up too then," he noted, looking at her damp hair and clean dress.

"Anna made me have a bath for _hours_," she complained "and then she brushed my hair really hard."

Arthur nodded. "Yeah, I had to do that too. Well, not the hair part obviously." He amended. Morgana giggled.

"Let's find something to do," Arthur suggested.

"We could tell stories."

He accepted the idea and they both crawled into his huge bed, snuggling down under the thick blanket.

When Uther went into Arthur's room after the ball, he had almost forgotten the earlier incident and it was erased from his mind completely as he looked at the scene before him. Even a man like Uther Pendragon could not hold a grudge when looking upon his young son and ward curled up in bed, obviously exhausted and yet, even in their sleep, still holding each other's warm, comforting hands.

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**So? What did you think? Give me a number out of 10, a page long essay, a poem - I don't really care as long as I get feedback! Thankyou so much for reading, the next (and final) chapter will be up soon hopefully. The more reviews I get, the quicker I will try to update. I may even add more chapters if you like it enough! =D**


	3. Daisy Chains

**Apologies for the extremely long delay in updating this fic. I appreciated all of your reviews and you've finally inspired me to get round to posting this final chapter. Unfortunately, I probably won't indulge in writing many more Arthur/Morgana fics because I now mostly ship Arthur/Gwen. But who knows, maybe I might write a one-shot or something if you guys want one and I get bored!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin**

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Spring seemed to have come early to Camelot that year. Wherever Morgana went she saw fields full of daisies and patches of beautiful wildflowers, bursting out of the lavish grass, despite the fact that it was only mid-February. One particularly sunny afternoon, she and her best friend Gwen were making daisy chains on the grass and watching the knights train.

"Are you going to be at the ball tonight?" Morgana asked her friend. "Yes, I'm helping serve the food I think," she replied. Morgana sometimes felt sorry for Gwen having to serve all of the rich people their delicious food and clean their chambers, when she also had her own house to help take care of, but Gwen claimed to enjoy doing the work. After all, she and her father needed the money.

Morgana's attention was diverted as Gwen elbowed her and nodded at the group of knights. "Oooh, look at that one there. He looks handsome," she said, pointing at a knight who was wielding his sort theatrically, a little way apart from the rest of the group. "That's Sir Henry. He's new here and I've heard that most of the women round here like him." Morgana answered, nudging her friend teasingly. "I can see why," Gwen smiled. This was a favourite pastime of the girls – admiring the knights of Camelot whilst they practised. Morgana usually had a few snippets of inside information on them which made it all the more fun.

Just then, Arthur stepped up to demonstrate a move and Morgana found herself focusing on him. Although he was the youngest, he was by no means the smallest and also probably one of the best. He'd almost completely shaken off his childhood by now; his body was well-muscled and quite tall. His face was beginning to show the faint beginnings of a beard, but at the same time was still slightly round – the only trace of boyishness left. Morgana watched as his golden hair caught the sunlight and seemed to glow.

She jumped as Gwen coughed slightly. "What did you say sorry?" she asked, tearing her eyes away. "Oh, um, nothing important. I was just asking what you were going to wear to the ball, but it's ok, you can go back to staring at Arthur." Gwen answered. Morgana couldn't quite keep down the faint blush in her cheeks as she said "I wasn't staring at Arthur; I was watching all of them". Gwen hesitated and then said softly "It's okay, you know. To tell me, I mean. It's obvious you like him Morgana and I promise I won't tell anyone." Morgana looked down at the grass, fighting the increasing blush she felt creeping up her face. "He's just my friend, Gwen-"she paused"-and my adopted brother." Gwen nodded understandingly "Of course," she said, tactfully refraining from mentioning the bright blush on Morgana's usually pale complexion.

Evening fell and Morgana was in her chambers, getting ready for the ball. Although she would never tell anyone, she was a little nervous of what Arthur would think of her dress. It was lower cut than anything she'd worn before and this added to her nervousness as she waited for the ball to begin. Meanwhile, Arthur was pacing in his room, fiddling with the clasp of his cloak. He wondered if Morgana would like the new tunic he was wearing. Arthur generally thought it was girlish to worry about clothes, but he couldn't help spending all of the time leading up to the ball worrying about the impression his outfit would give, particularly to a certain girl.

The candles flickered in the Great Hall as the ball began. Arthur was talking to some friends, but at the same time he kept glancing at the doors of the hall, waiting for her to appear. When Morgana stepped into the hall, holding her head high and smiling regally, many heads turned to look at her. Arthur let out an involuntary sigh as the candelabra threw light on her slender figure. She wore a long, midnight blue dress, which dipped low on her chest and clung to her figure, highlighting her curves. Her raven black hair cascaded down her back, loosely held off her face. Blue sapphires shimmered on her necklace and golden charms dangled delicately form her wrists. Transfixed, Arthur could do nothing but stare. Morgana tried to avoid looking at him and instead walked immediately over to where Gwen was serving wine.

"Arthur's staring at you," was Gwen's whispered greeting. "Is he?" Morgana tried to sound nonchalant, but the excitement in her eyes gave her true feelings away. "Arthur stares at all girls," she said, and Gwen didn't think she'd imagined the hint of jealousy. Morgana tried to look discreetly over her shoulder at Arthur, catching his eye by accident as she did so. She turned away again and quickly struck up a conversation with some ladies of the court.

Not long after, the dances began and, as was the custom, Morgana had to dance with Arthur. Glad of an excuse to actually look at him, she stepped forward to take his hand. Arthur couldn't keep his eyes off her face and as they danced he forced himself to think of other things to avoid getting lost in her dazzling eyes. When the dancing had ended, they both walked over to the drinks table, slightly breathless. Morgana blushed lightly as Arthur handed her a drink. His heart thudded in his chest as he attempted to speak. "Are you hot?" he asked her. "A little," she replied. How could she keep so calm over this, Arthur wondered. "Well…um…maybe we could go outside to cool down," he suggested, hoping it sounded much manlier than he felt.

They slipped out and headed to the grassy area near the large doors to the Library. Morgana sat down in the grass, Arthur following her lead. "It's so crowded in there," she commented in an attempt to make this a little less awkward. "Yeah, sometimes it's a bit much, isn't it?" he replied. He noticed her hands fiddling with the grass and wondered if she was actually as nervous as he was. "Do you want me to show you how to make a daisy chain?" she asked him.

Normally, Arthur would have refused and told her that daisy chains were far too girly, but he decided that he couldn't ruin the peaceful atmosphere and, in the end, whatever Morgana wanted was fine by him. Not that he would ever admit it if anyone asked. So thy sat underneath the stars, with the man in the moon as their only witness. Finally, after about 15 minutes, Arthur held out his hand. "Okay, hold still Morgana," he said, taking the chain he had made and wrapping it gently around her head like a circlet.

Morgana held her breath as she felt his hands caress her when he put the daisy chain on her. Arthur felt her tense up a little and his heart rate increased again. Before Morgana could process what he was doing, Arthur leant towards her and gave her a gentle, timid kiss. She froze, overwhelmed by the feelings and thoughts flying around her brain at a thousand miles per hour. Then, coming to her senses, she pulled him closer and kissed him straight back.

Morgana's half embarrassed, half overjoyed face and Arthur's bashful grin were unnoticed by most people as they re-joined the ball, deliberately staying away from each other. But nothing could stop the small smile of delight spreading across each of their faces as they re-joined their friends on opposite sides of the hall. Gwen looked at Morgana knowingly and said quietly "I told you so."

That night, both Arthur and Morgana lay in their beds on opposite sides of the castle, but with their thoughts as one. Both of their minds lingered on that first, sweet Valentines kiss.

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**Well, there you go :) I hope you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Reviews are welcome (both positive and negative).**


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